Kacey Roberts
An Airbus-built light utility and reconfigurable helicopter has logged over 1.5 million flight hours since its first delivery to the U.S. military in 2006.
In a statement Wednesday, Rob Geckle, chairman and CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense and a past Wash100 awardee, said, “This milestone is an incredible achievement for the Lakota fleet and reflects its impressive reliability over the past 18 years.”
He added, “Having reached the one million flight hour milestone less than three years ago, this number is indicative of Lakota’s value as a staple of the U.S. military that is multi-mission capable, reliable, and affordable.”
The UH-72 Lakota helicopters serve the U.S. Army, Navy and Army National Guard for training and missions such as counter-drug operations, search and rescue and disaster response.
To date, Airbus has delivered over 480 Lakota helicopters in nearly ten configurations to the military.
